Due to the mishandling of their claimed luggage, a Mumbai-based couple’s honeymoon in Amsterdam turned into a nightmare, requiring them to arrive at their destination without their bags and purchase all necessary items in Europe. To exacerbate the situation, they were left stranded after their stuff was purportedly delivered to their hotel in Amsterdam days after they had checked out. Even though they returned to Mumbai on January 18, they have not yet received their stuff. They spoke to Mid-day about their experience.
Mumbai Couple’s Honeymoon Turned Into A Nightmare
The luggage of Harshvarshan Saraf and Akshata Khetan, a Mumbai honeymooning couple, was allegedly misplaced by Lufthansa Airlines and brought to their Amsterdam hotel after they had already checked out. According to the couple, their bags are still at the hotel. On January 5, they set out from Mumbai on a Lufthansa aircraft to Munich, where they would catch a further trip to Amsterdam, marking the start of their adventure. They were told that all flights to Amsterdam had been cancelled when they arrived at the Munich airport.
Since their reservations were paid for in advance, they took a Lufthansa City aircraft to Cologne, from where they took a train to Amsterdam, as advised by a Lufthansa agent in Munich. But when they got to Cologne, they found that the Munich-Cologne flight had not loaded their bags. On January 9, the airline finally brought their things to their hotel in Amsterdam; by then, they had left for Switzerland. Lufthansa has not responded on the retrieval of their suitcases, which are still at the Amsterdam hotel. Up to the time of publication, Lufthansa had not responded to an email inquiry asking for comment on the situation.
Saraf Recounts His Woeful Tale
Describing his harrowing experience, Saraf told Mid-day that their disappointing experience with Lufthansa had been made worse by the lack of support and cooperation, despite the situation not being their fault, which had caused both mental and financial trauma. It was stated that they had reached Munich via flight LH 767 on January 5 and were supposed to board LH 2302 from Munich to Amsterdam.
They were told in Munich that their flight to Amsterdam had been cancelled. In an effort to resolve their flight, the Lufthansa service centre was contacted after over two hours, and it was informed that practically all of the airline’s and KLM’s planes to Amsterdam that day have been cancelled.
He further states that waiting another day could not be afforded, as all travel and accommodation had already been paid for, and there had been a strong chance that flights would be cancelled again. He described A Lufthansa staff member at the counter, R Weigl to be very understanding. She suggested that they take a Lufthansa City flight to Cologne from where they could board a train to Amsterdam, with travel compensation. She confirmed that their luggage would be loaded onto the same flight, VL 1978, so they agreed to the suggestion.
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